LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




00144170167 # 



251 
N756 

:opV 1 THE 



NORTH CAROLINA 



HISTORICAL COMMISSION 



GENERAL INFORMATION 



1911 



E. M. UZZELL & CO. 

PRINTERS AND BINDERS 

RALEIGH. N. C. 



Fzs/ 

.N754 



COMMISSIONERS: 

J. Bryax Grimes, Chairman, Raleigh. 

W. J. Peele, Raleigh. Thom.\s M. Pittman, Henderson. 

M. C. S. Noble, Chapel Hill. D. H. Hill, Raleigh. 

R. D. W. Connor, Secretary, Raleigh. 



Oftr«eri« Uit. 
OCTS c 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 

NEW QUARTERS OF THE STATE 
HISTORICAL COMMISSION. 

In the new State Administration Building, now 

being erected in the city of Raleigh, a cut of 

which appears on the opposite 

^ , . . , ,, page, the North Carolina Historical 

Administration 1, . . . , , ... 

Commission is to be provided 

with commodious and modernly 
equipped quarters. The building is located at the 
head of Fayetteville Street, the principal street of 
the city, facing on Morgan Street, overlooking the 
Capitol Square. The cost of the building, exclusive 
of the site and furnishing, will be S200,000. It 
will be in every particular a beautiful, modern, fire- 
proof structure. The act of the General Assembly 
directing its erection, cited, as the necessity for 
such a building, the fact that as "valuable libraries, 
priceless manuscripts, historic relics, many records 
and much [public] property are housed in many 
separate and unfit buildings, exposed to constant 
danger from" fire," "it is imperatively necessary 
that larger and safer quarters be provided for the 
same"; that, therefore, "a fireproof building, ade- 
quate for the purposes intended and required, should 
be erected." (Chapter 66, Public Laws 1911.) * 
The entire second floor of this 

, ^^. . , building is to be devoted to the 
the Historical , °,, at .i ^, i- tt- . • 

. . work of the North Carolina Histori- 

cal Commission. On this floor will 
be provided offices for the Historical Commission, 
its officers and employees, a Document Room for 
5 



the filing of manuscript s, an Exhibition Hall for 
the public exhibition of manuscripts, a Hall of 
History for the preservation of historic relics, a 
Portrait Gallery, reading rooms for students and 
investigators, etc., etc. The whole will be equipped 
with modern furniture and other facilities for work. 

CREATION OF THE HISTORICAL 
COMMISSION. 

Nothing can better illustrate the growth in 
importance and scope of the work of the North 
Carolina Historical Commission than the willing- 
ness of the Legislature to make such provisions for 
its future expansion. 

The North Carolina Historical Commis- 
Act of 

sion was created by act of the General 

^^^^' Assembly of 1903 (chapter 767, PubKc Laws). 
This act provided for a commission of five mem- 
bers to be appointed by the governor. They were 
to serve two years, without salary, per diem, mile- 
age, or other expenses. It was declared to be their 
duty to have collected and published, as other State 
printing, documents "pertaining to the history of 
the State." For this work the Commission was 
allowed only $500 annually. No office or any equip- 
ment of any character was provided for its work. 
Efficient work was, of course, impossible. The best 
that could be hoped for was so to use the fund 
available as to demonstrate the importance and 
value of such work, and thus induce the Legislature 
to enlarge the powers and increase the appropria- 
tion of the Commission. Success crowned these 
efforts. 

The General Assembly of 1907 amended the act 
of 1908 in the following important particulars: 



1. The term of office was increased to six 
Act of 

years; 

2. The duties and powers of the Commis- 
sion were greatly enlarged; 

3. The annual appropriation was increased from 
$500 to $5,000; 

4. The Commission was given authority to employ 
a secretary and such other officers as it judged 
necessary; 

5. Offices were assigned to the Commission in the 
State Capitol. 

Under this act the Commission elected a secre- 
tary who entered upon his duties July 1, 1907. 

DUTIES AND POWERS. 

The duties of the Historical Commission are as 
follows : 

. 1. To have collected from the files of old 

* newspapers, court records, church records, 

private collections, and elsewhere, historical data 

pertaining to the history of North Carolina and the 

territory included therein from the earliest times. 

2. To have such material properly edited, pub- 
lished by the State Printer as other State printing, 
and distributed under the direction of the Commis- 
sion. 

3. To care for the proper marking and preserva- 
tion of battle-fields, houses, and other places cele- 
brated in the history of the State. 

4. To diffuse knowledge in reference to the his- 
tory and resources of North Carolina. 

5. To encourage the study of the history of North 
Carolina in the schools of the State, and to stimulate 
and encourage historical investigation and research 
among the people of the State. 

7 



6. To make a biennial report of its receipts and 
disbursements, its work and needs, to the Governor, 
to be by him transmitted to the General Assembly. 

The Commission has the following powers : 

^ 1. To adopt a seal for use in official 

Powers. , 

busmess. 

2. To adopt rules for its own government not 
inconsistent with the provisions of the law. 

3. To fix a reasonable price for its publications 
and to devote the revenue arising from such sales 
to extending the work of the Commission. 

4. To employ a secretary. 

5. To control the expenditure of such funds as 
may be appropriated for its maintenance. 

The purpose of this booklet is to state briefly 
how the Historical Commission during the first four 
years of its work under the act of 1907 has per- 
formed its duties. 

COLLECTIONS OF THE HISTORICAL 
COMMISSION. 

The most important duty imposed upon the His- 
torical Commission is the collection of documents 
pertaining to the history of North Carolina. The 
following collections have been deposited with the 
Historical Commission, either as gifts or as loans: 
^^ „ 1. These are transcripts of the manu- 

scripts of Governor Samuel Johnston, pre- 
served in the library at "Hayes," near 
Edenton, formerly the residence of Governor John- 
ston. Permission to have these transcripts made 
was granted by Mr. John G. Wood, the present 
o^vner of "Hayes." They embrace many letters 
from the Revolutionary leaders of North Carolina 
and other States. 



2. These transcripts of the colonial manuscripts, 

recently found among the private 

papers of Lord Dartmouth, Secretary 

^ ' of State for the Colonies in 1772, were 

made for the Historical Commission by Messrs. 

B. F. Stevens and Brown, of London, by permission 

of the present Lord Dartmouth. 

3. A large collection of the correspondence 
Wilev 

^ of Dr. Calvin H. Wiley, first superintendent 
MSS 

of public instruction of North Carolina, 1853- 

1865. It is valuable for the light thrown on the 

educational history of the State. Presented by 

Mrs. Calvin H. Wiley. 

4. A collection of more than 1,000 letters 

^^^^^ and other MSS. of the late John H. Brvan, 
MSS 

' member of Congress from North Carolina, 

1825-1829. Very valuable to the student of the 

ante-bellum history of North Carolina. Presented 

to the State by the present representatives of the 

Bryan family. 

5. This collection embraces 1,310 letters 

and other documents of the private cor- 
MSS 

respondence of Jonathan Worth, governor 

of North Carolina, 1865-1868. These manuscripts 

have been published by the Historical Commission. 

Presented by Governor Worth's daughters. 

6. Transcripts of the papers collected 
Historical ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ Governor Swain for the 
Society ^^^^j^ Carohna Historical Society. The 

originals are in possession of the society 
at Chapel Hill. The transcripts number 1,065 docu- 
ments bearing on colonial and ante-bellum history. 

7. A splendid collection of the papers 
Charles E. ^^ ^^^^ Johnston and Iredell families, 
-' ^ embracing the correspondence of Gov- 
ernor Samuel Johnston, Judge James 

9 



Iredell,, and Governor James Iredell, numbering 
2,529 manuscripts. Loaned by Colonel Charles E. 
Johnson. 

8. The correspondence and other papers 
of the late Senator Zebulon Baird Vance, 
embracing more than 4,000 documents. 
Presented principally by Mrs. Vance. 

9. The manuscripts of the late Mrs. Cor- 
^ nelia P. Spencer. The collection embraces 

372 documents. Presented b y M r s. 
Spencer's daughter, Mrs. James L. Love, of Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 

, 10. The letters and military papers of 

Maior-GeneralBrvan Grimes, C. S. A. The 

MSS ' 

collection contains 494 manuscripts, of 

especial interest to students of the Civil War. Pre- 
sented by Mrs. Grimes. 

11. This collection, though small, is of 
exceedingly great value. It is made up of 
the letters of E. J. Hale senior, founder and 
editor of the FayetteviUe Observer. At one time the 
collection embraced thousands of manuscripts, but 
three fires in the office of the Observer have reduced 
it to its present size. It now numbers 397 letters. 
Presented by Mr. Hale's son. Major E. J. Hale. 

12. A small but interesting collection 

,,^^ of the letters of the late Colonel William 

MSS 

L. Saunders, secretary of state of North 

Carolina and editor of the "Colonial Records of 

North Carolina." It contains 115 documents. 

13. A collection of manuscripts of the 

. Revolutionary history of the State and 

of the closing years of the eighteenth 

century, embracing 1,065 documents, presented by 

Hon. Walter Clark. 

10 



14. The letters of William A. Graham, governor, 

United States senator, secretary of the 
-_„j^ navy, Confederate States senator. The 

collection contains 496 letters. Presented 
by Hon. William A. Graham, commissioner of agri- 
culture. 

15. Embraces the papers of Charles Pettigrew, 

^ . bishop-elect of North Carolina, Ebene- 

Jr^ettigrew 

zer Pettigrew, member of Congress, and 

of James Johnston Pettigrew, brigadier- 
general, C. S. A. Of especial interest for sources of 
economic and industrial history from 1800 to 1860. 
Presented by the Misses Pettigrew, present repre- 
sentatives of the family in North Carolina. 

16. In addition to the above collec- 
Miscellaneous . -i tt- . • , ^^ • • i 

tions, the Historical Commission has 

received from time to time various 

smaller collections, and miscellaneous documents too 

numerous to be mentioned specifically. A fuller 

description of these collections is given in Bulletin 

No. 9, of the Publications of the Historical Com- 



NEWSPAPER FILES. 

The Historical Commission has also had copied 
. from colonial newspapers of other 

states valuable data bearing on the 
colonial history of North Carolina. 
These files include The Boston Evening Post, 1769- 
1770; The Virginia Gazette, 1771-1776; The South 
Carolina Gazette, 1732-1775; The South Carolina 
Gazette and Country Journal, 1765-1775, and The 
South Carolina Gazette and American General Gazette, 
1766-1775. In the absence of North Carolina news- 
papers of the colonial period, these papers are very 
valuable for historical purposes. 
11 



ARCHIVES OF THE STATE. 

The most important, as it is the largest collection 
of manuscripts pertaining to the history 

of North Carolina in existence is to be 
of State 

found in the public archives at Raleigh. 
Archives. 

Few people know the extent and rich- 
ness of this collection in historical material. It 
covers more than two hundred years of our history, 
from the close of the seventeenth century to the 
present day. But the manner in which these records 
have been cared for is anj^thing but creditable to 
our patriotism and intelligence. Thousands of valu- 
able manuscripts, record books, and other docu- 
ments have been stuffed away in dark pigeonholes, 
in boxes and obscure corners, without order or 
system, or have been tossed about, thrown helter- 
skelter, here and there, in leaky attics in various 
parts of the city, with an utter indifference to their 
value. The creation of the North Carolina Histori- 
cal Commission and the erection of the State Admin- 
istration Building will, happily, pvit an end to this 
condition. 

The governors are required by law to keep a let- 

, ter-book into which important letters 

and other documents must be copied. 
Letters 

But all the governors have not followed 

the same practice in this respect. Some of them 
have had copied practically all of their correspond- 
ence, some have had copied only such letters as 
were deemed of especial importance, and some have 
had copied only such public documents as com- 
missions, resignations, and proclamations. Conse- 
quently, there are thousands of loose letters and 
other documents of the Executive Department of 
the greatest historical importance that do not appear 
in the executive letter-books at all. 



Until the organization of the Historical Commis- 
sion no effort seems to have been made to preserve 
these manuscripts. They were hauled out of the 
governor's office and literally dumped into the leaky 
and dilapidated attic of the building on Fayetteville 
Street until recently occupied by the state insur- 
ance commissioner. There they were left without 
protection from rain, fire, or pilferers. Indeed, ac- 
cess to them was allowed to anyone who desired 
to rummage through them. Consequently, many 
important documents have been lost. But the 
greater part has been rescued, and they are now pre- 
served among the collections of the Historical Com- 
mission, where they are being classified and filed 
as rapidly as possible. 

Thus far, of this collection, 14,754 letters and 
other documents have been filed, representing 9,581 
correspondents. 

PUBLICATIONS. 

Coupled with the duty of collecting material per- 
taining to our history is the equally important duty 
of having such material published. The Historical 
Commission has issued 22 publications, and has one 
other in press. 

Report of the North Carolina 
Historical Commission to Governor 
Charles B. Aycock, 1903-1905. By R. D. W. Con- 
nor, Secretary. 7 pp. 1904. 

Advanced Sheets of Literary and Historical 
Activities in North Carolina, 1900-1905, Part I, 
relating to the Work of the State Literary and His- 
torical Association. Compiled and edited by W. J. 
Peele and Clarence H. Poe. 

Advanced Sheets of Literary and Historical 
Activities in North Carolina, 1900-1905, Part 
II, relating to the Reports of Historical Organiza- 
13 



tions in North Carolina. Compiled and edited by 
W. J. Peele and Clarence H. Poe. 

Five Points in the Record of North Caro- 
lina IN the Great War of 1861-1865. The Report 
of the Committee appointed by the State Literary 
and Historical Association, 1904, to reply to the 
charges of Judge George L. Christian, of Virginia. 

A State Library Building and Department 
OF Archives and Records. An address delivered 
by R. D. W. Connor before the State Literary and 
Historical Association, at Raleigh, November 15, 
1906. Reprinted from ''The North Carolina Book- 
let." (Supply exhausted.) 

Some Notes on Colonial North Carolina, 1700- 
1750, by J. Bryan Grimes. Reprinted from "The 
North Carolina Booklet." (Supply exhausted.) 

The Beginnings of English- America: Sir Wal- 
ter Raleigh's Efforts to Plant an English Colony on 
Roanoke Island, 1584-1587. By R. D. W. Connor. 
Prepared for distribution at the Jamestown Expo- 
sition. (Supply exhausted.) 

. Bulletin No. 1. The North Caro- 

lina Historical Commission: Creation 
and Organization, Duties and Powers, Plans and 
Purposes. By R. D. W. Connor, Secretary. 18 pp. 
1907. 

Bulletin No. 2. The North Carolina His- 
torical Exhibit at the Jamesto^\'n Tercentennial 
Exposition, Norfolk. Virginia. A history of the 
exhibit, together with a complete catalogue of the 
relics, portraits, and manuscripts exhibited. By 
Mary Hilliard Hinton, Custodian. 51 pp. 1908. 

Bulletin No. 3. The Second Biennial Report 
of the North Carolina Historical Commission, 
1906-1908. By R. D. W. Connor, Secretary. 21 
pp. 1909. (Supply exhausted.) 



Bulletin No. 4. David Paton, Architect of 
THE North Carolina State Capitol. An address 
by Samuel A. Ashe, delivered in the Senate Chamber 
of the State Capitol at Raleigh, March 12, 1909, 
upon the occasion of the presentation of the por- 
trait of David Paton to the State, by his children 
and grandchildren, and its acceptance by Governor 
W. W. Kitchin. 19 pp. 1909. 

Bulletin No. 5. The Great Seal of the 
State of North Carolina, 1666-1909. By J. 
Bryan Grimes, Secretary of State. The bulletin 
contains cuts of every seal ever in use in this State. 
32 pp. 1909. 

Bulletin No. 6. The Significance of His- 
tory in a Democracy. By C. Alphonso Smith, 
Professor of the English Language, University of 
North Carolina. An address delivered at the un- 
veiling of a monument to the Muse of History on 
the Guilford Battle Ground near Greensboro, N. C, 
July 3, 1909. 11 pp. 1909. 

Bulletin No. 7. Addresses at the Unveiling 
OF THE Bust of William A. Graham. Set up by 
the North Carolina Historical Commission, in the 
rotunda of the State Capitol, January 12, 1910. 
94 pp. 1910. 

Bulletin No. 8. Canova's Statue of Wash- 
ington. By R. D. W. Connor, Secretary of the 
North Carolina Historical Commission. A history 
of the original statue and of the presentation of a 
replica by the Italian Government to the State of 
North Carolina, in 1909. Contains half-tones of the 
replica presented to the State of North Carolina by 
the Italian Government, from the original cast in 
the Canova Museum at Possagno, Italy; of an 
engraving (1840) of the statue as it appeared on 
the pedestal, in the State House rotunda at Raleigh; 
15 



and of the ruins of the statue, now preserved in 
the Hall of History at Raleigh. 96 pp. 1910. 

Bulletin No. 9. The Third Biennial Report 
OF THE North Carolina HiSTORia\L Commission, 
December 1, 1908, to November 30, 1910. By 
R. D. W. Connor, Secretary. 56 pp. 1910. 

Bulletin No. 10. Addresses at the Unveil- 
ing OF the Bust of Matt W. Ransom by the 
North Carolina Historical Commission in the rotunda 
of the State Capitol at Raleigh. Dehvered in the 
Hall of the House of Representatives, January 11, 
1911. 55 pp. 1911. 

, . , Literary and Historical Activi- 

Literary and , . „ , „ _ _ ^ . _ . 

. TIES IN JSorth Carolina, 1900-190o. 

... Compiled and edited by AV. J. Peele. 

Activities. ^^^^^^ ^23 pp. 1907. ^ (Edition ex- 
hausted.) 

A Pocket Manaul of North Carolina for the 

use of the members of the General 

Manuals. ^^3^^^^^^ ^^ ^ggg Compiled by R. D. 

W. Connor, Secretary. 281 pp. 1909. 

A Pocket Manual of North Carolina for the 
use of the members of the General Assembly of 
1911. Compiled by R. D. W. Connor, Secretary. 
315 pp. 1911. 

^ , ,. The Beginnings of Public Educa- 

^, , TioN IN ^orth Carolina: A Docu- 

EdUCatlOn. ^ tt- ^ -.^^r^ -.r.Ar. r^ 

mentary History. 1790-1840. Com- 
piled and edited by Charles L. Coon. In two 
volumes. 

The first volume contains the editor's introduc- 
tion in two parts: I. Educational and Economic 
Conditions, 1790-1840; II. Educational Agitation, 
Measures, and Results. This introduction covers 
47 pages and is a sketch of the fifty years of agita- 
tion which resulted in the enactment of the first 



public school law of North Carolina. Volume I 
also contains the original documents covering the 
period to 1832. Volume II covers the period from 
1832 to 1840. The publication contains such docu- 
ments as wills, governors' messages, reports of the 
literary board, other public documents, memorials 
and petitions, extracts from newspapers, magazines, 
pamphlets, etc. The two volumes contain 238 
documents. 

The Correspondence of Jonathan Worth. 
Compiled and edited by J. G. 
• de Roulhac Hamilton, Ph. D., 

Alumni Professor of History in the 
University of North Carolina. In two volumes. 
Volume I contains a biographical sketch of Jona- 
than Worth, by Dr. Hamilton, together with his 
correspondence from February 25, 1841, to June 29, 
1866. Volume II contains the correspondence to 
February, 1868. The two volumes contain 1,064 
letters written by Governor Worth, 204 written to 
him, and 42 miscellaneous letters, a total of 1,310. 
The Murphey Papers: Being selec- 
tions from the correspondence, public 
papers, and historical and miscellaneous 
articles and collections of Archibald Debow Murphey 
of North Carolina. Compiled and edited by Wil- 
liam H. Hoj-t. (Jn press.) 

TO ERECT MEMORIALS. 

^ ^ , The law charges the Historical 

Busts Erected ^ . . %li, xu j 4. ^ ^ 

Commission with the duty oi erect- 
in the Capitol, . • i x xi \ j 
^ mg memorials to the great men and 

great events in the history of North Carolina. In 
accordance with this section of the law the Histori- 
cal Commission has erected in the rotunda of the 
State Capitol marble busts of William A. Graham 
17 



and Matt W. Ransom, and has placed orders for 
similar busts of Governors Samuel Johnston and 
John M. Morehead. The busts of Senator Ransom 
and Governor Morehead were presented to the State 
through the Historical Commission by public- 
spirited citizens who contributed the necessary funds; 
the bust of Governor Johnston by the Masons of 
the State. 

ILLUSTRATING THE HISTORY OF NORTH 
CAROLINA. 

The Commission has had placed in the Hall of 
History the following pictures illustrating the his- 
tory of North Carolina: 

. , Three pictures of treatv with Tus- 
Historical -. i- 

^. carora Indians. 

Pictures, rr ■ . -ii 4. X- 1 • 1 

len pictures illustrating colonial 

Edenton. 

Three pictures illustrating colonial Wilmington. 

Two pictures illustrating colonial Bath. 

Two pictures of ''Hayes." 

Seven pictures illustrating War of the Regulators. 

One picture of General Robert F. Hoke. 

One picture of Andrew Johnson's birthplace. 

One picture of The New Bern Gazette, containing 
the Mecklenburg Resolves of May 31, 1775. 

One picture of Richard Cogdell's letter relating to 
the above copy of The Xeuj Bern Gazette. 

Twenty-six pictures illustrating Indian life in 
North Carolina. Painted by John White in 1586 
and photographed from the engravings of Theodore 
DeBry, 1590. 

Two panoramic views of the city of Raleigh, 1909. 

Under the auspices and through the aid of the 
Historical Commission, Mr. Jacques Busbee has 
painted views of Roanoke Island, the scene of the 
18 



first English colony in America, and of Bath, the 
oldest town in North Carohna. These pictures are 
also in the Hall of History. 

CANOVA'S STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

In 1910 the Historical Commission secured as a 
gift from the Italian Government a fine replica of 
Canova's statue of Washington. The original statue 
was made by Canova for the State of North Carohna 
in 1820, and was destroyed by fire in 1831. The 
plaster replica was made from Canova's original 
model in the Canova Museum at Possagno, Italy, 
by order of the Minister of Fine Arts of the Italian 
Government, especially for North Carohna, and was 
presented to the State through the Historical Com- 
mission. It has been set up temporarily in the 
State Capitol, but will ultimately be placed per- 
manently in the Hall of History. 

TO DIFFUSE INFORMATION ABOUT 
NORTH CAROLINA. 

The law imposes upon the Commission the duty 
"to diffuse knowledge in reference to the history of 
North Carolina." The Commission is always glad 
to receive inquiries in regard to the history of the 
State, and to answer them if possible. In the per- 
formance of this duty a great many letters have 
been written and bulletins sent out in reply to 
queries about our history in general, and about 
specific incidents in our history. A large majority 
of them, of course, have come from people within 
the State, but they have been by no means confined 
to North Carolina. Such requests have been re- 
ceived from persons residing in twenty-two States, 
and in foreign countries. A very encouraging feature 
of the work of the Commission is that students are 
beginning to find their way to its collections and to 
19 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




^^^^^ .^^^..^^^ .^.^ 



make use of them in t 
Carolina and Americ; 
visited the collections 
Others from all parts of the Union have made use 
of the collections by correspondence with the secre- 
tary. The collections of the Commission are open to 
all students who desire to make use of them, either 
by personal investigation or by correspondence. 

TO ENCOURAGE THE STUDY OF NORTH 
CAROLINA HISTORY. 

The act creating the North Carolina Historical 
Commission makes it the duty of the Commission 
"to encourage the study of the history of North 
Carolina in the schools of the State." The work 
of the Commission in accordance with this clause 
has taken three lines of activity: 

1. At the request of the State Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, the Secretary of the Historical 
Commission prepares each year the programs of 
exercises for the celebration of North Carolina Day 
in the public schools. This program is issued from 
the office of the State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. 

2. The Commission has reprinted from Hackluyt's 
Voyages the original documents giving accounts of 
the first English colony in the New World, Sir 
Walter Raleigh's efforts to plant a colony on Roan- 
oke Island. This series will be followed by other 
leaflets bearing upon important events in our his- 
tory. 

3. The Historical Commission will aid any student 
who is preparing an essay on any subject in North 
Carolina history, by giving references to sources of 
information. Many such requests have been re- 
ceived, especially froni high school pupils, and have 
always been answered as fully as possible. 



